Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, yet he wasn’t even close to that status when I interviewed him in 2008, before his electric vehicle juggernaut Tesla Motors (TSLA) was even public, recalls Jim Woods, editor of Successful Investing.
Yet I can still remember Musk’s intense certitude regarding the future of electric vehicles (EVs), because as he correctly told me even back then, the technology that propels EVs is just flat-out superior to that of the internal combustion engine.
Of course, for the past century our transportation networks have been built on servicing the internal combustion engine, and those networks have served society immensely well.
Yet because of pioneers such as Musk, and because of the increasingly widespread global adoption of a great idea whose time has come, i.e. the embrace of electric vehicles, the world is in need of an updated transportation network designed to “fuel” the battery-powered vehicles of the now — and of the future.
Enter Blink Charging Co. (BLNK), which is the owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle charging services. The company offers both residential and commercial EV charging equipment, enabling EV drivers to easily recharge at various location types. Its principal line of products and services are the Blink EV charging network and EV charging equipment, and EV-related services.
What I like about BLNK is that it serves the growing demand for more ubiquitous charging stations for EVs. Consider that in 2020, there were some 6.8 million EVs worldwide. Yet by the end of the decade, the number of EVs is estimated to climb as high as 230 million.
Moreover, The Boston Consulting Group projects EV sales to rise from 12% of the global market in 2020 to 47% in 2025. Now, according to industry analysts, the expected mass adoption of EVs means the EV infrastructure must also blossom, and that means surging demand for EV charging stations of the sort made by BLNK.
Another thing I like about BLNK is its interesting business model. You see, instead of just simply selling charging stations the way oil companies sell gas pumps to station owners, BLNK offers what it calls a “FLEX” model.
The FLEX model gives commercial property owners the ability to host EV charging stations at not only zero cost to install, but also to make money doing so.
The FLEX plan is actually quite simple. Blink builds and installs the chargers at no cost to the property owner, and then Blink shares the EV charging revenue it gets from EV customers with the property owners. This is a classic case of a “win-win” in business, and one that I suspect can lead to a lot of revenue in the years to come.
From July 2020 to the end of 2021, BLNK shares have surged some 468%. And while the EV segment of the market is by its nature volatile and speculative, it’s also potentially very rewarding for investors that can stomach the high-valuation turbulence. So, if you are looking for a “stock of the future” capable of delivery electric gains, then check out Blink Charging.
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A Look Back at 2021's Top Performer
Jim Woods selected the #1 performing stock in last year's Top Picks 2021 report — cryptocurrency trading firm Voyager Digital Ltd. (VYGVF). Here, he updates that idea.
Shares of the digital trading platform operator surged some 250% in 2021, as the company rode the emerging wave of cryptocurrency buying during the year. Interestingly, the big gains in VYGVF came mostly in the first quarter, as the stock went from $3.90 at the end of 2020 all the way to a high of $29.00 by Apr. 5, 2021.
The stock actually trended lower from there, but because of that massive spike in the first three months of the year, VYGVF was able to maintain much of its triple-digit percentage gains on the year.
Now, how did I know VYGVF would be a big winner in 2021? Well, I didn’t know, because the virtue of modesty informs us all that the future is unknowable. Yet what I did know is that Voyager Digital offers customers interested in buying cryptocurrencies what I think is the best platform out there for accomplishing this mission.
And I also knew that consumers were hot for Bitcoin, Ethereum and the scores of other digital currencies on the market today. So, do a little logical connecting of the dots and you come to the wisely modest conclusion that VYGVF was a great way to profit from the circumstance.
As for the current status of VYGVF, if you bought the stock last year based on my thesis and are still sitting on that 200%-plus win, there is nothing wrong with taking profits here to start off the new year.
Having said that, if you are just discovering VYGVF, then I don’t think it’s too late to add this one to the portion of your portfolio dedicated to the more speculative stocks—the ones capable of delivering yet another triple-digit percentage win. After all, who amongst us thinks cryptocurrencies aren’t here to stay? Enough said.
